Birthday Wishlist 2016

It's coming up to my 23rd birthday in a few weeks, 26th of November to be exact. Just in case you want to make a note for your diary... I have some mixed feelings about it. It seems only yesterday that I was even leaving my teens behind, to be now heading directly into my 20s is a little crazy to me... I sometimes panic that I'm not going to have enough time to do everything I want to do! Even when I tell coworkers or people of an "older generation" that I'm getting old, they just laugh at me & say I've got my whole life ahead of me. I don't think it helps when my baby face is staring at them, talking about ageing. So I have to try and remind myself what I have seen and done so far, as well as realising people are living right up to their 90s nowadays. Not that I think I should ignore the fact that time is passing by significantly quicker than it used too... But It does make me more determined to conquer the world, to see & hear as much of it as possible. Because there is still so much more to be done!

So since it is coming up to my birthday, I thought it would be pretty cool to share what I'm currently eyeing up. As well as giving some hints to my nearest & dearest... I'm not expecting to receive everything here, some of these things I'm hoping to maybe catch in the Black Friday sale. It's actually fallen on the weekend of my birthday this year. I went crazy last black Friday, but I'm not planning to this year. If anything from this list has money off during black friday and I haven't gotten it as a present, then yes I will probably buy it myself to say Happy Birthday. I'm not embarrassed to treat myself just because I'm getting older, any excuse to get a little treat. This year I'm more interested in the boxing day sales. Just because there isn't anything I'm overly desperate to get, but it will be great to see what deals there are after Christmas. So if I get any money, I think I'm just going to save it this year.

Who knows, since it is coming up to that time of year. Maybe you'll take inspiration from this yourselves. Maybe you'll see something for a family member, or a close friend. Or maybe you'll even see something you would like for yourself! Let me know what you think in the comments below. I would love to hear what you're asking for this year. For your birthday or Christmas!

Tweety Pie Clutch
White BackPack
SD Card
Floral Embroidered Skirt also in black
Embroidered Mom Jeans
Knee High Fringe Boots
Iphone Case
Portable Phone Charger
Colourpop Liquid Lipsticks
Colourpop Lipstick Set
Wedged Jelly Shoes
Cath Kidston Pocket Purse
Cath Kidston Tote Bag

A Casual Halloween In Autumun

I had a successful & unsuccessful day today. How is that possible I hear you ask? Well, very easily. When I got up I had full intentions to film the video I never managed to, for my weekly upload yesterday. I thought well if I can at least get it up today, then that isn't too bad, Is it? So I set everything up, my background, my tripod, my camera & I was even sitting in the chair all ready to go. Poor Chris had even been banished to the bedroom with his laptop & headphones in tow. The cats had even been locked away, so there were no surprise visits in the background. As soon as I hit record, I bottled it and couldn't speak. Most of, if not all, my recent videos have been filmed while Chris was out the house.

So I now feel super nervous & weird doing it with him in the flat. I don't mind filming vlogs in public or even filming with him in public as I feel I'm capturing that for us and our memories. But since I haven't really been filming properly again until recently, I've completely lost my confidence to do it. I know I will need to just do it once or even twice, to get over the first hump and embarrassment of doing it. But It's pushing yourself to get over that first hurdle that's the hardest...

So what was the successful part of today? Well, the fact I actually put on something nice & we took some time to photograph what I was wearing. Plus, I'm actually uploading it. Its been such a long time since we took outfit photos, & it's been even longer since I actually uploaded said photos to the blog. There's been a few times where we have managed to capture some photos, but they have either not been to the standard we wanted them to be to be able to share them (photography is one of those things you need to continually be doing or you can loose your touch a little).

 Sometimes it's because I've not edited the photos or worse case scenario I have edited them and just forget to upload them! I'm going to start hanging any outfits I've worn on my rail, then if we get a day when the weather is nice or we haven't much to do, we are going to go out and have a "photo-taking" day. Outfit posts used to be all I shared on this blog & it isn't something I want to stop sharing on the blog. Its the main core of this blog!

We decided to go the cinema today and see Docter Strange, we pondered over going to see it yesterday but we decided today would be better. Why we decided to go today rather than yesterday, I have no idea. I'm considering doing a review on it, so if that is something you would be interested in, then please let me know in the comments below! Afterwards, we had dinner at Chris' parents, as tradition. Tonight we had lasagne, as well as sundried tomato, parma ham & mozzarella bruschetta for the starter. Spoilt, I know. Check out Chris' Instagram for a photo for our main!

Coat- Unif

Dress- Asos

Halloween Shoes- H&M

Halloween Ring- H&M

Bag- Accessorize buy here

Scarf- Topshop

Necklace- Market

Choker- Ebay buy here

Outfit Details

I bagged this dress, from the petite range at Asos, last winter. At first, I fell in love with the oversized design & pattern. Then, when it arrived, I fell in love with the heavy weight material. Its perfect for a Scottish winter! As I knew I was going to be sitting for a long period of time, I wanted something pretty comfy & slouchy so this recycled outfit was perfect. I'd already worn something similar, so I just changed a few things like the coat & shoes, from what I had originally worn earlier this week. In the spirit of the spooky season, I decided to pair my Halloween themed ballet pumps & spider ring from H&M. Everything else kind of fell together perfectly, a nice thick scarf from Topshop, to help with the lightweight feel of my jacket as well adding some layers & texture to the look. It also helped that colours matched the jeweled tones of the dress perfectly!

What have you been wearing recently? How are you coping with the continously changing weather? Let me know in the comments below! Speak soon guys.

How To Celebrate A Fantastic Halloween In Glasgow This Year

So here we are in spooky October! And a lot of people are working hard in the blog & youtube world. We have people doing vlogtober & blogtober, as well as make-up & costumes ideas galore. Take your pick you will find what you are looking for somewhere on the internet... I also want to point out, and have a little jokey moan, that Christmas stuff has already been out for a month. A month. We only just got Halloween items at the beginning of this month! Anyway, I promise that's the last time I'm mentioning the "C" word, for now... I think a lot of us are now in love with Halloween & October because it signifies the beginning of Autumn. Time for layers, good smells, great food, and cherished memories with your close friends & loved ones. So since it is the month of Halloween, I thought I could find out what spooky & Halloween inspired events are happening in Glasgow. Sorry to be just sticking to local things near me, I'm sure if you live elsewhere in the world, there will be something going on! So just try searching on google or even facebook. If you are brave enough, set something up yourself for your own community! I live in a sleepy Scotish village & one of the pubs is having a costume themed night.

Photo by Sara Bonisteel

Pumpkin Carving & Craft Beer Tasting

(Alcohol License is pending, you will have two options if they don't get it 1) Full refund, 2) 10% refund with pumpkin carving only)

If you are wanting to test your pumpkin carving skills this October, then head on down to Little Botanica, who were originally just florists (still are) & have now added a bistro cafe to their name. They also created the flowers for our wedding, so I have a slight softspot for this event... You also won't have to go through the mess of traditional pumpkin carving, they will have already done this for you! While you are letting your creative juices flow, you can also let the craft beer juices, from  flow into you. So if you fancy a relaxed, fun & creative evening, then I would book soon before they run out of spaces!

Saturday, 29th October 7-9pm £25

Little Botanica, Glasgow, G5 8JN

Day of the Dead Glesga

Bringing the spirit of Mexicos most famous festival, Dia de los Muertos (day of the dead), held in Saint Luke's Music & Art Venue, celebrate your Halloween with a latin twist. There will be Mexican food, live music from bands as well as DJS, performances, rituals and even sugar skull face painting! More acts are still to be confirmed as well. So if you happen to be too old for trick or treating now and live music's your thing, then why not give this a go?

Saturday, 29th October 7.30pm-1am £10

Saint Luke's, 17 Bain Square, G40 2JZ 

Source- Here

Halloween Dance Party

If you love partying to old school tunes and still want to have fun with dressing up, this is an event you will not want to miss. Make sure you tell your friends and make sure you dress up. You'll also need to be mentally and physically prepared, it will be a 6-hour danceathon... If you think you have the dedication & determination to make it! I'm a bit of a wimp, I don't know if I would make it.

Friday, 28th October 9pm-3am £19.50/£24
O2 Acadamy Glasgow, G5 9NT

Hedkandi Halloween Party

After having three sold out events in Scotland, they are back for a Halloween special one night only. So if you don't want to miss out & with this sort of popularity I would hurry! There's currently only just under 100 tickets left... If you aren't into the stereotypical dressing up but are finding yourself still wanting to party, then this one may be for you. With DJs occupying two rooms, I'm sure you will find something to suit your taste.

Saturday, 29th October 10pm-4am

Kavalii Nightclub, Bell Street, G1 1NX

Tickets Here

Unboxing Of My First Designer Shoes! Charlotte Olympia

I Know I'm always late, but I am trying to work on that! I hope you enjoy the video anyway, no matter where you are or what time or day it is...

Hotel Review- Lodge on Loch Lomond

Image not owned by me. Source here

About

Positioned in Scotland's beautiful countryside, next to Luss, which has been known to be the prettiest village in Scotland. The hotel was open in March 1992 and went on to have further renovations in 1996 & 2005. There're many golf clubs located close by as well as the airport only being about 20 minutes away. You can also go walking & do an outdoor sport, as the hotel has partnered with local activity groups. The hotel has also had two US Presidents stay.

Experience
As soon as we arrived, we went straight to the receptionist to get checked in as we wanted to organise ourselves. There was only one person on, but after waiting a few minutes we were seen too as two other young ladies came out. Whether it was due to a queue building, or finishing their break I do not know! As we had booked ours through a wowcher deal (sign up for some crackers! I'm not sponsored to say this), we needed to give them a reference code but as it was our anniversary gift from Chris' parents I didn't have to hand. So we were told this was fine, just let them know on check out. This saved a lot of embarrassing faffing about! As with most hotels, we had to swipe a card, so just be warned, it does show on your statement that money has been taken out. They were really great and friendly when I called up to enquire about this a few days after the stay. Check in was very quick so we were off to our room in no time.

When we got to the room I unpacked everything and got us organised, but I had an enquiry. So I just used the phone to call the receptionists, which was answered very quickly & politely. Although, unfortunately, later that evening we called at least 5 or 10 minutes before closing time and the phone rang out! So we felt as if we had been ignored. Which actually leads me onto why we needed to call them in the first place. Being the technology, fast wifi hungry gremlins that we are, brought our laptops. Just in case. Even though I never even attempted to go on my laptop, Chris (my husband) couldn't even get a connection. He wasn't even able to detect any internet, nevermind actually getting onto an internet page. So that was a bit of a letdown. If you are hoping for some good internet access, I wouldn't hold my breath for here! Looking back, I should have tried connecting just in case it was his laptop having issues. But I highly doubt it. A lot of these places have a shared internet access for everyone, so it's harder to connect due to the amount of traffic.

So it was just normal t.v for us that night! The bed was super comfy & warm! A proper, sink in and snuggle type of bed. These are my favourites in hotels, you just want that little bit of extra when you're away don't you? The next day, check out went just as smoothly as check in.

Rooms & Prices

All rooms include T.V, radio, Wi-Fi, Tea/Coffee making station, hairdryer, iron & ironing board, telephone, 24-hour room service and a wake-up call (on request).

Classic Grahams £80pp

A traditionally lodged style room, which is located in the original lodge building above Colquhoun's restaurant & bar. There is a shower as well as a bath, either twin or double beds. You also get a double seated sofa which is ideal for watching the tv. 

Executive Munros £90pp

A more modern style room, with just the right amount of Scottish touches (a fellow scot can handle), which is located in the newer leisure/swimming pool building. The room is similar to the Graham rooms in terms of size & facilities. Although, these rooms have an open planned bathroom!

Deluxe Corbetts £100pp
Same comfort as the Grahams room but slightly bigger in size. Located in the main lodged building with balconies that have breathtaking views of the loch. If you choose this room, you also get your own private sauna as well as a larger bath tub. Some come with a sofa bed, so let them know at the booking if you would like this.

Cuillin Suite £120pp
A suite that includes two bedrooms with double beds & decent sized living room. The larger of the two rooms has an en-suite with a toilet, shower and a bath. In these rooms, it's the living room that opens up to the balcony. Although it opens onto a car park, you still get to enjoy the stunning panoramic views of the loch.

Carter Suite £120pp
The Carter Suite, which was a favourite of President Jimmy Carter, is pretty much the same as the Cuillin Suite. Some of the differences are; the sauna is slightly bigger as well as the balcony.

Travis Suite £214pp
Just newly opened, it has more of a modern design than the "lodged style" the hotel has previously gone for. There is only one bedroom with this suite, but you do get a much larger living space than the other rooms provide. The bed, however, is a lovely king size four poster bed! The colour scheme for this room is also entirely different from the usual oranges previously used.

Facilities

16m Swimming Pool

Jacuzzi

Steam Room

Sauna/Laconium

Personal Thoughts

The surroundings & views are spectacular! I think for the views alone, a stay here would definitely be recommended, especially if you have never been to Scotland before. It is rated as a 4* hotel, but I personally think the decor maybe needs a little updating. It just seems a little tired which is a shame as there is so much going for the place! As I said, the views alone can sell this place, as well as the location. They have recently just launched their new suite, which from the photos, the decor looks incredible! So whether or not this is on the cards for the rest of the hotel, I've no idea. If they can get the rest of the rooms looking like the new suite, I think the hotel will have a lot more of a luxurious feel to it. Before we went I hadn't really seen any photos, so I was a bit worried about how much tartan and Scottish themes there would be. As a fellow, local Scot, I am proud of our tartan heritage but I don't want it everywhere. But, it was ok there was just enough tartan. We had an "Executive Munros" room which had a fantastic amount of space. But, the way it looks right now & the way the internet was, I'm not sure I would pay the full £90. In our wowcher deal, for £130 we had a 2-course meal for dinner (drinks weren't included), a room & breakfast for two. So with a little tweak here & there, a 4* luxurious hotel you will have!

Location

Luss, Argyll, Scotland

Rating

6/10

Lodge on the Loch Lomond Website

Colquhoun's Restaurant Review